Damon's Secret Sin
by HeartBreakMystique
Summary: Damon relives his proposal to Elena - Written for Jordi (sydriansflame) for the DESC Secret Valentine's Exchange on Tumblr :)


A/N: So, this was written for the lovely Jordi (sydriansflame) for the DESC Secret Valentine's Exchange on Tumblr :) I hope you like it sweetie and Happy Valentine's everyone! 3

* * *

Damon opened his eyes, blinking peacefully, as the sunlight from the open window gently lit his room. He breathed deep, savouring the quiet as he glanced happily down at the brunette beauty draped across his chest.

It had been 2 months since Elena had fully and completely chosen to spend the rest of her undead life with him. He still couldn't believe she'd agreed to marry him. Part of him kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for her to change her mind and come to her senses because surely he wasn't going to get to keep such happiness.

Surely there was a catch, a joke, a 'sorry I made a mistake but let's just be friends' speech somewhere in his future.

He thought back to the moment he proposed, nostalgia momentarily bringing a lump to his throat as he remembered their conversation afterwards...

* * *

"Damon, I swear to god if you do that one more time I will rip off your ring and dance over your ashes whilst emptying every last drop of bourbon you own over your car and setting it alight." Elena warned, attempting to hold back her giggles.

"Ouch, harsh. I see you've thought about this a lot. Are you going to see my house on fire too? You do have a particular knack for arson." Damon wiggled his eyebrows and jumped back as Elena gasped indignantly and tried to slap him.

"That was one time! And who's bright idea was it to flip my switch leading me to burn my house down in the first place?!" Elena questioned, smirking in defiance.

"Ah, ah, ah. I believe you'd lit the match _before_ I made that particular mistake." He wagged his finger at her mockingly.

"I also seem to recall I didn't drop it that time..."

"Oh, you dropped it but I caught it because I'm awesome like that. Point is, you're still an arsonist." He laughed as she pouted in frustration.

"I think your memory's failing in your old age grampa." She stuck out her tongue and squealed as he lunged for her, narrowly avoiding his grasp.

"Well you're dating this "grampa" so you'll just have to bow to my superior wisdom and accept that I'm right and you're wrong." He swung his leg back before bringing it forward quickly and splashing her as his foot kicked up more of the sea's water.

"What did I just say?!" Elena spluttered as her face caught the brunt of his attack.

"Can't take off my ring if you can't catch me." He winked, backing up slowly into the water.

"You are so dead." She smirked, advancing towards him.

"For centuries now." He laughed, throwing himself back and grabbing her waist as she jumped at him.

They crashed together as they both slipped beneath the surface.

Damon smiled as they mock wrestled under the water, alternately flipping each other over and pinning each other's arms behind their backs. Finally, Damon surrendered allowing her to push him up towards the surface, both of them laughing as they blinked the water from their eyes.

Damon lifted his hand and wriggled his fingers mockingly.

"Come on then, mi niña de fuego, I dare you."

"I can't." She smiled.

"Aww, see, I knew you loved me too much to ever kill me."

"Nope." She smiled wider. "It would just take too long to wash your ashes out of my hair."

Damon's mouth dropped open in mock horror. "You cheeky little..." Elena placed her finger over his mouth to silence him.

"Finish that sentence and I'll reconsider the inconvenience."

He kissed her finger softly and shook his head.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes playfully, pulling her in tighter and nuzzling her neck.

Elena giggled before gasping softly and weaving her fingers into his wet hair, tugging him closer.

Damon placed deep kisses along her collar bone, randomly flicking his tongue against her salty skin to tease her.

He pulled back and she sighed in protest.

"I love you." He whispered, kissing her nose softly.

"I know, I'm too awesome for you not to." She shrugged playfully then shrieked as he started to push her under the water.

"Okay, okay, jeez...I love you too." Elena leaned forward and kissed him gently, pouring her affection for him into her actions.

They pulled back slowly, dazed smiles lighting up their faces as they basked in their mutual love for each other.

"Come on." Damon tugged her gently back to the beach, randomly kissing her as they fought their way back through the waves.

They stumbled onto the sand, hand in hand, as they made their way back towards their rented cabin.

They walked slowly and in silence, content to just be beside the other.

Damon slowly began to grow nervous the closer they got. He hoped they'd set it up exactly to his specifications.

When they reached the porch, he stopped and pulled her back gently.

"Damon, what...? Elena began, confused.

"I have a surprise for you. Go upstairs to our bedroom and look in the wardrobe. Get ready then meet me right here as soon as you're done." He smiled at her sheepishly.

"What? Damon, I don't..."

"Please? I promise it'll be worth it." He looked at her lovingly before nudging her gently towards the stairs that led to their cabin.

"Okay." She smiled slowly before pulling him towards her and kissing him sweetly. "I'll see you soon."

He watched her as she disappeared into the house, running his hands haphazardly through his hair in nerves before turning around and walking towards another building...

* * *

Damon was pulled from his reminiscing as Elena stirred and blinked lazily up at him.

"Hi." She whispered softly.

"Hi back." He smiled, kissing her forehead gently.

"What were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about our little trip to the Seychelles when you made the best decision of your young life."

"Oh, you mean that time I decided not to sacrifice my hair for revenge on a really irritating creature I was unfortunate enough to encounter on the beach?" Elena feigned teasingly.

"Nope, that other best decision of your life." Damon played along.

"Ah, then you're thinking of that beach boy I took behind the showers and..."

Damon growled, pinning her under him and pressing his body tightly against her.

"I knew I should have snapped his scrawny little neck. I think we should go back. I need to have a few more words with towel boy..."

"Any more words and you'll give him a heart attack. Poor boy, he'll probably never approach a girl again thanks to you."

"Good. He shouldn't have tried to flirt with _my_ girl."

"He was being polite."

"He was trying to get into your pants."

"There's only one guy I'd ever let near my pants."

"Let's keep it that way."

"Which reminds me, I'm leaving you Damon. I'm in love with Alaric. I know he's a ghost but it's all about the near touch and god his near touch is..." Elena squealed as Damon tickled her mercilessly.

"Ha ha ha. Aren't you little miss witty this morning." Damon mocked, pulling back as she fought to catch a breath she didn't actually need.

"You're right. Alaric isn't naughty enough. I may have to shoot up to New Orleans and steal Caroline's new boyfriend away." She winked.

"I'd stake that hybrid bastard before you made it past the front door." Damon smiled menacingly, rubbing his hands together in mock glee.

"You can't kill Klaus, it'd kill you too." She stuck her tongue out in victory.

"It'd be worth it just to see the look of horror on his face." Damon laughed.

"Nothing is worth your life." Elena whispered seriously.

"You are." Damon replied, the playful mood dissipating as they locked eyes.

Elena broke their gaze first, looking away and breathing shakily. She closed her eyes for a few seconds before looking back with a small smile on her face.

"When you sent me up those steps I was so confused. I knew it couldn't be anything bad but you were so nervous, so...awkward. I'd never see you like that before. It was like you were waiting for me to scream at you or something." She laughed quietly.

"And then I opened the wardrobe." Her smile grew wider. "I think I knew then. It was like our whole story played out before me, every bit of happiness, every bit of hurt and I just wanted to run back down those stairs and never leave your side again. I almost did. Then I saw the note." She smiled, tears of remembered joy brimming in her eyes.

Damon laughed, pulling her towards him. "Ah...the note."

* * *

Elena walked into their bedroom, nervous yet excited to see just what plan Damon had cooked up for them now.

She crossed to the wardrobe and gasped at what she found when she pulled open the doors.

She put her hand to her mouth as she reached out with the other one to run her finger tips over the material. It was just as soft as she remembered 10 years ago. She was so young then, so naive, so...human. Caught up in the drama of her new relationship. Blindly stumbling through the world of the supernatural and fighting to hold on to her past dreams.

He'd steadied her world that day.

Held her together when she hadn't even realized she was falling apart.

She pulled the dress from it's hanger and laid it out onto the bed, old memories surfacing as she struggled to sort out her feelings.

She needed to see him. She couldn't wait. She didn't need some extravagant gesture, didn't need some big show of how much he loved her. She knew how much he loved her. She felt it in every look, touch and word he gave her.

All she needed was him.

She turned back to head out the door, certain she could catch him before he left to set up whatever else he had planned.

She was almost to the top of the stairs when she heard the fluttering of paper meeting the floor. She must have displaced it as she threw down the dress and her abrupt departure must have caused it to slip from the bed.

Elena walked back across the room and bent to pick it up.

She recognized his hand writing immediately. One simple sentence scrawled in his elegant script.

_You are all I need._

* * *

"Do you know how long it took me to think of that? I spent hours trying to put into words everything I felt. I knew I'd mess it up if I had to say it to your face. I was trying to be smooth and clever and...and..._romantic." _He stuttered the last word as if it physically pained him, twisting his face as if it was something grossly unpleasant.

"It was beautiful." Elena smiled, kissing his cheek.

Damon smiled, stroking her hair and sighing.

"I was trying to recreate the moment. I guess you were still caught up in the romance of it all. It'd explain why you literally fell into my arms." He smirked.

"I tripped! You shouldn't have made me walk down those stairs in such a long dress. It was a miracle I didn't fall the first time." Elena exclaimed, smacking his chest softly in admonishment.

"I caught you didn't I? I would have caught you had it happened the first time too."

"You always catch me."

"Always."

* * *

Elena stumbled, throwing her arms out to catch herself as her foot caught her dress on the last step.

Warm, strong arms immediately engulfed her, steadying her and pulling her upwards.

"You okay?" Damon asked as she tilted her head up to look him in the eye.

"Yeah. You'd think vampirism would have improved my reflexes. It's just my luck that I'd be the only vampire to keep my clumsiness." She laughed, embarrassed.

"You're still Elena. I'm beginning to think clumsiness is just another part of your charm. You know I can't resist it when you're all damsel in distress-like." He smiled cockily.

"Ha ha. You didn't save me from that wreck because you like playing the hero." She shook her head, rolling her eyes and pulling away from him.

"Nope. I was hoping for a midnight snack but then you fainted and you were all adorable and I figured it'd be hilarious to kidnap you instead. Plus, Stefan almost had a fit and his reaction was just too golden to pass up. It was a win-win."

"You love him and you know it."

"I tolerate him under sufferance. If he wasn't such a good animal deterrent I'd have gotten rid of him years ago."

"Liar." Elena smiled.

Damon rolled his eyes and held out his arm for her to take.

"Shall we?" He asked.

"Lead the way." Elena took his arm and followed as he lead her around the side of the cabin and off towards another building she hadn't really noticed until now.

They reached the building and turned a corner. Elena gasped in wonder as she took in the scene before her.

Damon smiled confidently as he watched her reaction to his hard work.

There was a table set up just to the left of a large patio. A small orchestra sat playing music softly in the background. The soft glow from a couple of hundred fairy lights lit up the area and reflected in the tears gathering in Elena's eyes.

"Oh, Damon. It's beautiful." Elena beamed.

Damon gestured for her to take a seat, pulling back her chair and tucking it in as she sat down.

He walked back around and took his own seat, smiling softly back at her as she reached across the table and took his hand in hers.

* * *

"The food was terrible." Elena laughed.

"Hey, that's not my fault either. No one told me that the chef I specifically hand picked was sick and some useless student trainee would be cooking instead. I swear, if there had been any more garlic in that soup that vampire myth wouldn't have been a myth any longer." Damon shuddered.

Elena doubled over laughing, trying to catch her breath. "Your face...I don't think I'd ever seen anyone so mad over food."

"He ruined the mood." Damon argued indignantly.

"We're vampires, it's not like we needed the food anyway." Elena stroked his face lovingly.

Damon muttered a string of curse words under his breath.

"Oh, let it go. At least no one in the orchestra was sick." She grinned.

"Luckily for them." Damon grinned back, squeezing her hand.

* * *

Damon spun her out then pulled her back in again, smiling as she giggled and fell into him.

"I don't remember that being part of the dance."

"I'm freestyling."

Elena snorted, shaking her head in amusement.

Damon slowed them, swaying her back and forth gently in a circle. They came to a stop just as the music switched to a slower song. A song Elena instantly recognized. Damon moved back as she turned towards the orchestra, smiling in nostalgia before turning back to thank Damon once again for being so wonderful.

When she turned around she almost burst into tears.

Damon was on one knee, smiling up at her nervously, looking as though he was about to face a firing squad.

Elena was briefly engrossed in how he must have looked as a child. His face held the same wonder and hope she imagined he would have worn back when his life was so much simpler.

"Elena..." Damon swallowed harshly, "I don't have a speech or some grand declaration of feelings that will ever be able to fully express exactly how much you mean to me. I'm not good with words and I can't promise you the world or that you'll always be happy or that everything will always be okay and you'll always be safe. But I can promise you my world and I can promise that I'll always be there to try and bring you the happiness you've always deserved. I can promise that I'll stand right by your side no matter what gets thrown your, _our_ way. I will always keep you as safe as physically possible and I will live my life and give my life to you and for you for the rest of whatever eternity I have left." Damon was breathing heavily as he reached the end of the speech he'd never planned to make. He looked at her hopefully, momentarily getting lost in the happiness radiating from her.

Elena noticed he seemed to have lost track of why he was on one knee and decided to tease him a little.

"Damon..."

"Huh."

"Damon." She laughed.

"Yeah."

"This has never happened to me before but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be asking me a question round about now." Elena tried to hold back her giggles but he looked so adorably lost she couldn't quite hold them all in.

"What, yeah...I mean yes...I mean...what?" He laughed as she bent forward unable to contain her happiness. "Hey, this is serious you know."

Elena stopped laughing immediately, straightening her face into what she hoped was a contrite expression.

He raked a hand through his hair to compose himself.

"Elena Marie Gilbert." He said seriously.

"Yes, Damon Giuseppe Salvatore?" Elena smiled sweetly.

Damon cocked his eyebrow and gave her a look. Elena nodded for him to continue.

"Will you marry me?" He swallowed nervously, still half expecting her to say no.

"Yes." Elena answered without hesitation.

"Really?" Damon stuttered, shocked.

"Yes, you idiot, now get up and kiss me." Elena launched herself at him as he rose to meet her, wrapping her arms around him fiercely and pulling him in for a passionate kiss.

They kissed repeatedly, whispering how much they loved each other as the orchestra continued playing in the background.

Finally, they pulled back.

"Do I get to wear the ring?" Elena questioned, eyebrows raised.

"Of course."

Damon pulled the ring from the box and gently slid it onto her finger, kissing her knuckles as he pulled away.

"It was my mothers. I know it's old and a little old fashioned. You can change it if you want. You don't have to have it. We can go pick you a new one. It's nothing fancy I know but..." Damon rambled, insecure over how she'd react to such an old family heirloom.

"Damon, I love it." Elena reassured, capturing his face in her hands and kissing him softly. "It's perfect."

Damon sighed in relief.

"It was one of my mother's last wishes. She gave it to me. Told me to hold on to it until I found the right girl. I asked her how I'd know and she just smiled." Damon shook his head in a mixture of fondness and sadness. "She said I'd just know. Like it was that easy, like I'd wake up one morning and suddenly I'd realize. Turns out she was right." He laughed.

"It was just after we'd gotten Katherine out of you. I was so relieved but I was so convinced that I'd blown everything. You'd grabbed me and clung to me, crying and telling me how thankful you were and how glad you were to see me again. All I could think about was how badly it was going to hurt once you got over what happened and dumped me all over again. And it just hit me. I remembered the ring and I just knew it was always meant to be yours and it killed me all over again when I realized it never would be and it was all my fault." He shook his head, sighing.

"Funny thing is it had never crossed my mind to give it to Katherine. Even when I was so hung up on everything about her something always held me back. I guess I knew, subconsciously, she wasn't the one it was meant for. It was always you, Elena. Even when there was no you for me to give it to." He smiled sadly.

"Hey, your mother was a smart lady and she'd be proud of you. So, so proud. You don't give yourself enough credit. You focus so much on the bad that you forget all the good you've done too. I'm sorry you lost her so young." Elena smiled sadly back at him.

"I'm sorry you had to face so much crap without her support. I'm sorry your father was an ass and I'm sorry Katherine was so selfish and so blind to the fact that you are everything, _everything_, that anyone could ever need. I love you. I love you so much. More than I thought it was ever possible to love someone. I am going to earn that ring every day." Damon began to interrupt her, protest that she didn't need to earn him at all. He was the one that would always have to earn her.

"No." Elena looked at him tenderly. "Your mother intended that ring for a girl who would do anything and everything for you. She knew you deserved so much and she wasn't wrong. I want to live up to her wishes too. I want to earn _you. _So, I'll wear that ring as long as you realize that you are not the one who's lucky in this relationship. You have nothing to prove, you have nothing to do or say that will make you worthy or unworthy of me, okay? I love you, you love me, that's it, that's all that matters. There's no score sheet anymore. We're equals."

Damon looked at Elena in wonder. She was so certain, so sure. He'd never really realized how deeply she loved him until now. He'd always assumed he loved her more because surely no one could love anyone as much as he loved Elena. Now, looking at her face, hearing her be so passionate about her belief in them, he realized he'd been an idiot. No one could love him more than Elena and Elena loved him just as much as he loved her.

"Okay." He nodded.

"Okay?" Elena sighed in relief.

"Okay." Damon smiled, capturing her lips with his.

* * *

"I think you should make speeches more often." Damon murmured, continuing to cuddle Elena closer to him.

"I know. I'm so awesome I even get through your thick skull." Elena mocked.

"Hey. Forgive me for being a little cautious. It's not like you're known for your stellar decision making."

"Shut up. My plans are always solid, it's others interference that screws it up."

"If by interference you mean saving of your life when you go on a martyr mission then yes, your plans are solid." He shrugged.

"Fine, so my decisions are sometimes a little controversial." Elena conceded.

"Yeah, and subject to change at the drop of a hat, often dangerous and nearly always end up with me having to dig wooden bullets out of 80% of my body..."

"I meant every word of what I said and nothing will make me take it back so you're stuck with me and my crappy decisions. Forever." Elena straddled Damon, pinning him down playfully.

"And I'm fine with that." Damon thrust upwards, catching her off guard and spinning her underneath him. "Are you sure you want to do this now? You know you always get carried away and we end up missing things and freaking everyone out. I don't need a repeat of the last time Caroline decided to check on us. Do we need to check our schedule?." Damon joked, bending to place kisses from the corner of her lips down her neck.

"You are all I need." Elena whispered as Damon continued his path downwards...

* * *

A/N: I know you wanted smut too Jordi but I wanted this fic to focus more on them rather than the sex (plus the bit of smut I did write felt rushed and out of place) I'm thinking about coming back to this and adding another chapter with smut when I've got more time so I can really drag it out (also I think I want to do the flashback night of the proposal smut AND the present smut too) anyway, I hope you had a great Valentine's Day, I'm sorry this was posted so late and I hope you enjoyed it too! 33


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